Download or read book Understanding Chinese Society written by Xiaowei Zang and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-07-14 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This second edition of Understanding Chinese Society provides a comprehensive, readable, and well-grounded introduction to the key issues affecting contemporary China. A thorough analysis is undertaken not only of China’s family patterns, education system, status, hierarchy, and ethnic diversity, but also of China’s mass media, legal system and social control, work, and cultural expression. As well as being thoroughly updated and revised throughout, this edition offers new chapters on urbanization, the environment, and civil society in China. A team of international experts guide students though social issues including: What are the key features of the family and marriage institutions in China? How are women and men faring differently in Chinese society today? How are minorities faring in China? How does the education system differentiate Chinese society? How are religion and cultural traditions expressed? Including handy pedagogical features such as a chronology of the People's Republic of China, further reading suggestions, and related novels and films, Understanding Chinese Society is suitable for anyone studying Chinese Culture and Society, Chinese Studies and Asian sociology.

Download or read book Understanding Chinese Society written by Norman Stockman and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2013-07-08 with total page 413 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This new book provides an accessible and wide-ranging introduction to the main features of Chinese society. Drawing on a wealth of material, the author offers a fresh understanding of a unique society that has undergone continuous transformation and upheaval throughout the twentieth century. Understanding Chinese Society looks in all its richness at the society with the largest population on earth. In order to explore long-term change and continuity, the book examines China from pre-revolutionary times to today's rapidly modernising society, although the focus is on recent change. Particular attention is paid to China's cultural traditions and hierarchical relationships in familial and wider social settings, and their fate in the modern world. Successive chapters investigate changes in the relations of rural and urban sectors of society; in the structure of families; in political and economic power; in cultural hegemony, education and the media; and in patterns of social inequality. A final chapter asks whether Chinese society is becoming more complex and differentiated in the course of modernisation and considers recent debates on the growth of civil society and democratisation. This book will be indispensable for anyone studying Chinese society, Asian societies and comparative sociology.

Download or read book Understanding Chinese Culture written by Guobin Xu and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-03-26 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Promoting cultural understanding in a globalized world, this text is a key tool for students interested in further developing their understanding of Chinese society and culture. Written by a team of experts in their fields, this book provides a survey of Chinese culture, delving deeper into areas such as Chinese philosophy, religion, politics and education. It offers the reader a wide range of essential facts to better understand contemporary China through its history and cultural background, touching on key areas such as the development of science and technology in China, as well as the country’s economy and trade history, and is a key read for scholars and students in Chinese Culture, Sociology and Politics.

Download or read book Understanding the Chinese Language written by Chris Shei and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-10-03 with total page 394 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Understanding the Chinese Language provides a vibrant and comprehensive introduction to contemporary Chinese linguistics. Combining an accessible style with an in-depth treatment of the topics at hand, it uses clear, full descriptions and vivid, modern examples to systematically take students through the phonology, vocabulary, grammar, discourse structures and pragmatics of modern Chinese. No prior knowledge of Chinese or linguistics is required. Features include: Six detailed chapters covering the core linguistic aspects of the modern Chinese language, such as words, content units, sentences, speech acts, sentence-final particles and neologisms User-friendly comparisons and contrasts between English and Chinese throughout the text, helping to clearly explain important complexities and nuances of the Chinese language Clear, accessible explanations and insightful analysis of topics and linguistic devices, supported by many helpful examples, diagrams and tables Vivid and relevant examples drawn from real-life contemporary sources such as internet news reports, social networks like Sino Weibo, online forums and TV reality shows, offering fascinating perspectives on modern Chinese media, culture and society Pioneering coverage of Chinese new words and the social phenomena they reveal Additional exercises and four supplementary chapters covering Chinese syllables, idioms, discourse and culture available for free download at http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415634885/ Written by a highly experienced instructor, researcher and linguist, Understanding the Chinese Language will be essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students taking courses in Chinese linguistics. It will also be of interest to anyone interested in learning more about Chinese language and culture.

Download or read book Understanding Peasant China written by Daniel Little and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 1989-01-01 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this innovative book, Daniel Little compares the positions of various social scientists regarding debates in China studies. Little focuses on four topics: the relative importance of individual rationality and community values in explaining traditional peasant behavior; the role of marketing and transportation systems in Chinese society; the causes of agricultural stagnation in traditional China; and the reasons for peasant rebellions in Qing China. He not only makes a constructive contribution to these controversies but also provides examples of the diversity of social science research.

Download or read book Understanding the Chinese City written by Li Shiqiao and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2014-04-29 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book teaches us to read the contemporary Chinese city. Li Shiqiao deftly crafts a new theory of the Chinese city and the dynamics of urbanization by: exploring the rise of stories of labour, finance and their hierarchies examining how the Chinese city has been shaped by the figuration of the writing system analyzing the continuing importance of the family and its barriers of protection against real and imagined dangers demonstrating how actual structures bring into visual being the networks of safety in personal and family networks. Understanding the Chinese City elegantly traces a thread between ancient Chinese city formations and current urban organizations, revealing hidden continuities that show how instrumental the past has been in forming the present. Rather than becoming obstacles to change, ancient practices have become effective strategies of adaptation under radically new terms.

Download or read book Understanding Chinese Society written by Eileen Yuk-ha Tsang and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2015-12-08 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ' Before 1978, China was backward economically, politically, diplomatically and was extremely isolated. The country had a few diplomatic allies like North Korea, Russia and Vietnam. However, in the past three decades, the country has witnessed robust changes that have aroused the interest of the westerners in knowing more about the country. This book provides first-hand information on China''s social changes and economic transformation. It enables readers to understand the Chinese Society vividly, dynamically, and practically. It examines various facets of the Chinese society ranging from famous landmarks, popular customs, festivals, food, daily chores, etc. The book also offers tips for those who are willing to live, work and run a business in China. Contents:Basic Institutions of Chinese Societies:The Chinese Society in Pre-Reform ChinaInstitutional Changes in Post-Reform ChinaSocio-Economic Changes in the Chinese Societies:Chinese Family and Kinship: Yesterday and TodayChinese Women and Education: Better Off in Post-Socialist China?Emergence of the Chinese New Middle ClassSpending without Speaking: China''s Middle Class, Governmentality, and Conspicuous ConsumptionSocio-Cultural Changes in the Chinese Societies:Institutionalization of Guanxi (Connections)Consumerism, the Pursuit of Beauty, and Medical TourismThe Legacy of "Leftover Ladies"The Crisis of Masculinity of the Ant Tribes in Post-Reform ChinaCorruption and Green NGOs in Post-Reform ChinaPopular Culture, Media, and Society in Post-Reform ChinaConclusion — Rethinking Global Governance: Chinese Model in the Making in the 21st Century? Readership: Students, academics, politicians, businessmen and practitioners interested in China''s social changes and economic transformations. Key Features:First-hand materials on the dramatic social, cultural and economic changes in post-reform ChinaAccessible to a broad readership including students, academics, politicians, businessmen and general readersKeywords:China Studies;Changes and Transformation;Economic Reform;China'

Download or read book Understanding China Today written by Silvio Beretta and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-07-03 with total page 357 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book covers numerous areas and aspects of Chinese domestic and external politics and policies, the Chinese economy, Chinese society and culture, and Chinese literature and history. It is divided into four sections, the first of which focuses on China’s place in world politics, including its relations with the European Union, Russia, India, Japan, the United States, and Africa. The second section among others addresses issues and areas related to China’s role in and impact on the international economy, the strategies and positioning of Chinese multinational companies investing in Europe, the problems and challenges of China's banking and financial systems and China's foreign economic strategies. The final two sections are devoted to Chinese politics and society, and Italian views on Chinese culture, language, and literature. The volume is multidisciplinary in nature, with contributions from experts of politics, economics, history, law, literature, gender studies, and the media. It will appeal to a wide range of China scholars and analysts as well as to all who have an interest in international relations, Chinese politics, the Chinese economy, and Chinese society, culture, literature, and history.

Download or read book A Social History of the Chinese Book written by Joseph P. McDermott and published by Hong Kong University Press. This book was released on 2006-04-01 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this learned, yet readable, book, Joseph McDermott introduces the history of the book in China in the late imperial period from 1000 to 1800. He assumes little knowledge of Chinese history or culture and compares the Chinese experience with books with that of other civilizations, particularly the European. Yet he deals with a wide range of issues in the history of the book in China and presents novel analyses of the changes in Chinese woodblock bookmaking over these centuries. He presents a new view of when the printed book replaced the manuscript and what drove that substitution. He explores the distribution and marketing structure of books, and writes fascinatingly on the history of book collecting and about access to private and government book collections. In drawing on a great deal of Chinese, Japanese, and Western research this book provides a broad account of the way Chinese books were printed, distributed, and consumed by literati and scholars, mainly in the lower Yangzi delta, the cultural center of China during these centuries. It introduces interesting personalities, ranging from wily book collectors to an indigent shoe-repairman collector. And, it discusses the obstacles to the formation of a truly national printed culture for both the well-educated and the struggling reader in recent times. This broad and comprehensive account of the development of printed Chinese culture from 1000 to 1800 is written for anyone interested in the history of the book. It also offers important new insights into book culture and its place in society for the student of Chinese history and culture. 'A brilliant piece of synthetic research as well as a delightful read, it offers a history of the Chinese book to the eighteenth century that is without equal.' - Timothy Brook, University of British Columbia 'Writers, scribes, engravers, printers, binders, publishers, distributors, dealers, literati, scholars, librarians, collectors, voracious readers — the full gamut of a vibrant book culture in China over one thousand years — are examined with eloquence and perception by Joseph McDermott in The Social History of the Book. His lively exploration will be of consuming interest to bibliophiles of every persuasion.' - Nicholas A. Basbanes, author of A Gentle Madness, Patience and Fortitude, A Splendor of Letters, and Every Book Its Reader Joseph McDermott is presently Fellow of St John’s College, Cambridge, and University Lecturer in Chinese at Cambridge University. He has published widely on Chinese social and economic history, most recently on the economy of the Song (or, Sung) dynasty for the Cambridge History of China. He has edited State and Court Ritual in China and Art and Power in East Asia.

Download or read book Understanding Canton written by Virgil K. Y. Ho and published by Oxford University Press on Demand. This book was released on 2005 with total page 537 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By studying six different aspects of culture in Canton in the period between the two World Wars, this book helps broaden our limited knowledge of the social and cultural lives of the common people in this largest city of South China. The author examines how the Cantonese in this periodindulged in their imagined cultural superiority as "modern" citizens, ushering in a cult of the modern city. During this period, Cantonese opera was also emerging and evolving into a widely accepted form of commercialised mass entertainment. The process of social and cultural change and its impacton the development of this city and its people are revealed throughout the book. This book also aims to redress some major misconceptions of the socio-cultural realities as seen in official rhetoric or academic discourse on the matters of patriotism and anti-foreignism, gambling, prostitution, and opium consumption. Contemporary non-official and folk materials reveal that thecommon people were much more pro-Western than xenophobic in attitude, and the alleged social and political "calamities" of gambling, opium consumption and prostitution were more rhetorical than real. Understanding Canton provides us with, not only a fuller and more comprehensive picture of city lifeand popular mentalities, but also an important clue to understand how and why the social history of this city was distorted and constructed in ways that suited the political ideology and nation-building agenda of the ruling regimes.

Download or read book Understanding China through Big Data written by Yunsong Chen and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-07-15 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chen, He and Yan present a range of applications of multiple-source big data to core areas of contemporary sociology, demonstrating how a theory-guided approach to macrosociology can help to understand social change in China, especially where traditional approaches are limited by constrained and biased data. In each chapter of the book, the authors highlight an application of theory-guided macrosociology that has the potential to reinvigorate an ambitious, open-minded and bold approach to sociological research. These include social stratification, social networks, medical care, and online behaviours among many others. This research approach focuses on macro-level social process and phenomena by using quantitative models to statistically test for associations and causalities suggested by a clearly hypothesised social theory. By deploying theory-oriented macrosociology where it can best assure macro-level robustness and reliability, big data applications can be more relevant to and guided by social theory. An essential read for sociologists with an interest in quantitative and macro-scale research methods, which also provides fascinating insights into Chinese society as a demonstration of the utility of its methodology.

Download or read book Understanding China 3rd Edition written by John Bryan Starr and published by Hill and Wang. This book was released on 2010-08-31 with total page 576 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After ten years, John Bryan Starr has thoroughly revised and updated his classic introduction to the background of, the data about, and the issues at stake in China's present and future. In the new edition, Starr seamlessly weaves in additional material on the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, the Chinese government's ongoing efforts to curb the influence of the Internet, and the intensifying trade disputes between the United States and China. Succinct, modest, and refreshingly forthright, Understanding China remains a necessary guide for the uninitiated to everything from the Chinese economy and political system, to its intellectual freedoms and human rights, to its relationship with the rest of the world.

Download or read book From the Soil the Foundations of Chinese Society written by Xiaotong Fei and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 1992 with total page 171 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A lucid and fascinating work about Chinese society and values. Fei's account of how China differs from the West is every bit as telling now as it was when this book was first published almost half a century ago."--Orville Schell "What are the fundamental characteristics of Chinese society and how does it differ from the West? In From the Soil, China's foremost sociologist offered his insights, based on fieldwork in China and residence in the West, into this fascinating question. Vivid and clearly written, it has long been a classic of Chinese sociology, widely read by Chinese. It is wonderful finally to have it available in English."--David Arkush, University of Iowa

Download or read book Understanding Emotion in Chinese Culture written by Louise Sundararajan and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-07-06 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This mind-opening take on indigenous psychology presents a multi-level analysis of culture to frame the differences between Chinese and Western cognitive and emotive styles. Eastern and Western cultures are seen here as mirror images in terms of rationality, relational thinking, and symmetry or harmony. Examples from the philosophical texts of Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, and classical poetry illustrate constructs of shading and nuancing emotions in contrast to discrete emotions and emotion regulation commonly associated with traditional psychology. The resulting text offers readers bold new understandings of emotion-based states both familiar (intimacy, solitude) and unfamiliar (resonance, being spoiled rotten), as well as larger concepts of freedom, creativity, and love. Included among the topics: The mirror universes of East and West. In the crucible of Confucianism. Freedom and emotion: Daoist recipes for authenticity and creativity. Chinese creativity, with special focus on solitude and its seekers. Savoring, from aesthetics to the everyday. What is an emotion? Answers from a wild garden of knowledge. Understanding Emotion in Chinese Culture has a wealth of research and study potential for undergraduate and graduate courses in affective science, cognitive psychology, cultural and cross- cultural psychology, indigenous psychology, multicultural studies, Asian psychology, theoretical and philosophical psychology, anthropology, sociology, international psychology, and regional studies.

Download or read book Understanding China written by Yanan Ju and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 1996-09-12 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Using empirical research data and his first-hand experiences, the author argues that (1) the Fourth Economic Power is truly emerging with mainland China being the center stage, and the Chinese Diaspora being the key players; (2) understanding guanxi (connections), among other things, represents the key to understanding doing business in China; (3) China is not yet ready for democracy; benevolent authoritarianism will most likely define China's political life; (4) China's corruption problem—either of a structural nature or a moral nature—is solvable; (5) education holds China's future; and (6) Chinese family can be the most sustainable resource of the Fourth Power.

Download or read book Chinese vs Western Perspectives written by Jinghao Zhou and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2013-12-04 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: China is on the rise in the globalized world. The relationship between China and the United States has become the most important global issue in the twenty-first century. It is urgent to understand what is happening in China and where China is heading. However, there are many misconceptions about China in the West, which affect Westerners’ ability to objectively understand China, and, ultimately influence the making of foreign policy toward China. The author attempts to challenge the misconceptions coming from both Western societies and China, and offer an integrated picture of contemporary China through systematically examining the major aspects of contemporary Chinese society and culture with the most recent data, and presents convincing arguments in eighteen chapters for spurring mutual understanding between China and the West. The author intends this book to be an interdisciplinary and comprehensive guide to China for a general audience, and it covers a wide variety of topics, including history, family, population, Chinese women, economy, environmental issues, politics, religion, media, U.S.-China relations, and other subjects. This book demonstrates the author’s extensive research and thoughtful examination of many sides of controversial issues related to China with a nice balance of Western and Chinese scholarship. This is one of the few that are authored by scholars who originate from China and have their professional career in the United States, but it is distinctive from the rest of studies on this subject in that the author is committed to examining today’s China from Chinese as well as Western perspectives. This is not only a scholarly book, but also is suitable for general classes on China.

Download or read book China written by John Lagerwey and published by Hong Kong University Press. This book was released on 2010-12-01 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the last 40 years, our vision of Chinese culture and history has been transformed by the discovery of the role of religion in Chinese state-making and in local society. The Daoist religion, in particular, long despised as "superstitious," has recovered its place as "the native higher religion." But while the Chinese state tried from the fifth century on to construct an orthodoxy based on Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism, local society everywhere carved out for itself its own geomantically defined space and organized itself around local festivals in honor of gods of its own choosing-gods who were often invented and then represented by illiterate mediums. Looking at China from the point of view of elite or popular culture therefore produces very different results.--John Lagerwey has done extensive fieldwork on local society and its festivals. This book represents a first attempt to use this new research to integrate top-down and bottom-up views of Chinese society, culture, and history. It should be of interest to a wide range of China specialists, students of religion and popular culture, as well as participants in the ongoing interdisciplinary dialogue between historians and anthropologists.--John Lagerwey is professor of Daoist history at the ?cole Pratique des Hautes ?tudes and of Chinese studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is author of Taoist Ritual in Chinese Society and History and editor of the 30-volume "Traditional Hakka Society Series" as well as the recently published four-volume set Early Chinese Religion.-----